Blue Eyes
by nunavik
Summary: The AU story of a younger Miyuki under the rule of Red and Purple. Banished to Earth by the Tallest, she goes about a new life with her memory wiped, meanwhile befriending a boy named Dib and encountering a little Irken named Zim. ZADF, Miyuki/Zim.
1. Kidnapped

"You shouldn't be here."

Two ruby eyes looked down at a figure strangled by darkness.

"Red-" she choked.

He bent down to untie her arms and legs. She was lifted with dignity and carried from the room by the red-eyed Tallest. Bodies lay still at his feet as they departed.

* * *

Space hummed always, deep. The Massive hummed as it floated through the star-flecked blackness. From the great window of the control room, the universe flew by. Everything was still. Everything echoed in the deep hum.

By the huge glass the Tallest stood, ruby eyes heavy as they watched the velvet black sea beyond. Behind him on the sofa sat a slender blue-eyed female. She was bruised and bandaged and sat slumped on the sofa, maintaining some composure. Standing off to her side was the second Tallest, soft purple eyes watching her.

"The resistance is growing," came the voice of the Tallest Red.

"They'll settle down," murmured Purple, "The Control Brains will approve of her. So should the people."

"No. They will remain unhappy. It is not the nature of a resistance to be satisfied so easily. They want me to rule, Purple. You know it."

Purple looked down.

"It's getting out of hand," he continued

"I am able to protect myself, Red. This was a freak occurrence. They only took me because of my health at the moment."

Red turned around and his eyes glinted. "Against a pack of fifty angry Irken revolutionaries fighting to rip off your Pak? No, Miyuki, not even you."

She glared back at him.

"I would never have this happen to you, Miyuki. I would have every one of these revolutionaries sent hurtling into space with their Paks ripped off if I could. But more will come."

"Violent leader, violent followers," she spat. "You don't see Purple's followers kidnapping the Second Tallest and beating her to a pulp. They are like him. They would never dream of violence."

"Miyuki, I have an entire empire to protect!" he said. "You don't expect me to sit passively while my people are attacked and overthrown. I didn't ask for this. But here I am, and I have a job to do. It won't get done if I sit back and dream of peace."

"Just think of what Irk would be like if you didn't have Purple beside you, Red."

Red glanced at his fellow with elegantly furrowed brows.

"Stop," Purple said. "This isn't about me."

"Then what is this about? Are we coming to any conclusions here?" Miyuki saw the look that passed between the Tallest. She waited. Red turned his back to them.

"You've got to leave Irk, Miyuki."

The Massive hummed. She stood, blue eyes a sea of silent flame. They had barely blinked and she was gone. They were left with silence and the deep hum of space.

"Zim, wake up."

Two pinkish eyes blinked up at her in the darkness of their room.

"What?" he mumbled, turning over.

"Zim. The Tallest are sending me away."

He shot upright.

"_What?_"

"Red thinks the resistance groups are getting out of hand. He's sending me away from Irk."

"Wait, no- you can't! You have to rule! You'll be taller than them in a month at this rate. You… we'll hide you!"

"No, there's no time. I just left the Massive. They'll be after me now."

She searched his frantic eyes, shaking her head. "Zim, please. Listen to me now. Do _not_ endanger yourself trying to come after me. You're going to be Assigned, you'll be an elite Invader, one of the best Irk will ever see. _Do not_ try to save me, Zim. They will strike you down." Her heart sank as she looked at his disbelieving eyes. She grabbed his shoulders. "This is an order from the Second Tallest, Zim! Is that clear?"

Her eyes watered as she looked upon him. Zim straightened. He raised a hand to his brow.

"Yes, My Tallest. I will not let you down."

The door flew open. Miyuki grabbed Zim in a last embrace as the soldiers yelled and stormed for her. She gave them hell, of course, but it was no use.

Her last glimpse was of Zim standing with complete composure in the darkness, his eyes glistening as he watched her go.


	2. Departure

Zim woke that morning to the usual hum of ships outside. The bed beside him was empty. He looked at it for a long time.

Today was a day off and tomorrow was the Great Assigning. Zim would be assigned his planet. Miyuki would have stayed on Irk to continue her training as Tallest.

Zim pulled on his Irken soldier's uniform and went out into the hall. Others were just rising as well, dressing and scratching sleepily as they filed outside of the washrooms. All soldiers and Invaders in training. Green skinned, jewel-eyed Irkens, short and tall. None had been taller than Miyuki, of course. She had held a cool command over her comrades. The Second Tallest at so young an age…

But, those fools. Oh, those fools. Those imprudent revolutionaries. It was their violent uprisings that sent her away. This had been coming. Ever since she began to draw alarmingly close to the height of the Tallest. Red and Purple had only just assumed power and they were wildly popular with the Irken people. Or, at least, the charismatic Red was. Purple was liked well enough, but he wasn't the outgoing and audacious leader that Red embodied.

The people wanted Red and Purple. Miyuki threatened their rule. Obviously the only solution was to have her killed. The Tallest were doing as much as they could to protect their valued Second Tallest, but with her still at the training facilities, it wasn't enough. Zim could count on his eight fingers how many attempts had been made on her life in the past couple of months.

He scowled at the Irken people. Miyuki was adored by her fellows. The soldiers, Invaders, instructors, Control Brains, the Tallest… everyone saw her potential. Anyone who worked close to her saw right away the leader that she was. Calm, cool, yet fierce and swift. And an overall decent individual. The brash Irkens didn't see Miyuki; they saw a blue-eyed bitch pining for power.

"Those foooools," Zim hissed and a pair of soldiers raised an eyebrow as they passed. Irk would flourish with Miyuki at the top, Red and Purple as her second-in- command, and Zim as her most elite Invader. Oh how it would flourish. Flourish like the man-eating zorble plants of Lop during the feasting season.

Zim grinned at the thought as he ordered a soda from one of the street-side vendors. The streets were bustling by now. In this district it was mostly soldiers and Invaders in training, with the training facilities being so close by. But tomorrow these streets would be empty. The entire Irken militia would flock to Conventia for the Great Assigning.

As he walked along the street, idly sipping his soda, he wondered suddenly what had been done with Miyuki. He halted and frowned. All she had said was "they're sending me away". Where? For how long? The Tallest couldn't possibly continue their rule if she became taller than them during her banishment. The Control Brains wouldn't allow it. Zim had had a nice little vision in his mind of Miyuki taking a vacation on some ocean planet somewhere far away, biding her time until the revolutionaries settled down and the Tallest could convince the people to accept her rule. But what if they had hurtled out into space in a Voot Runner programmed for a one-way trip to who-knows-where? He gasped aloud. Surely not Blorch, home of the Slaughtering Rat People. Or worse, Foodcourtia! Although Miyuki had enjoyed a good snack, Zim thought.

He shook his head. Had her orders not to save her included orders not to seek her out as well? He couldn't know. But the brilliant thought popped into his mind. Tomorrow, at the Great Assigning… After the festivities had ended and he had been assigned his planet, Zim would approach the Tallest and ask what had become of Miyuki. Surely he had a right to know, being her most loyal supporter and best friend from smeethood.

Then it was settled. Zim would talk to the Tallest, and from there decide his course of action. He lifted his chin as he strutted down the street. The Tallest would never withhold information from their most elite Invader.

Zim sipped his soda. And surely the Tallest didn't still have that grudge against him for destroying half the planet during Operation Impending Doom I. Miyuki had convinced them to give him another chance, after all. You could only hold something like that against an Irken for so long.

Yes, the Tallest must be dying to forgive him.

"Zim…_you weren't invited_."

The massive green body of the Irken military looked on as the Great Assigning of Operation Impending Doom II took an odd turn. Zim stood straight and proud in front of the two Tallest, their red and purple eyes upon him.

"Oh, I know, My Tallest. My invitation never arrived, but I figured it was an error. Not on your part, of course. Some incompetent worm-baby must have made a mistake in the delivery. But I took no offense, My Tallest."

Red held his shaking head in one hand. Purple looked at Zim with a raised brow.

"Uh, no, Zim. It wasn't a mistake. You weren't invited."

"I'm ready to receive my assignment, My Tallest!"

He saluted, completely serious. The Tallest looked at each other. Purple nodded, very slightly.

"Um," Red started, still looking at Purple. "Zim, we've decided to give you a second chance."

Zim brightened. "Thank you, My Tallest!"

"Yes… well, you are to be assigned to a… secret planet. Hardly anyone has heard of it, Zim. This planet lies on the very edge of the universe. It will be your job to study this planet, undercover, as an Invader blending into their society. The Armada will make its way there to conquer it…eventually. Until then, you will remain on this planet."

"Ooh," Zim said. "What is it called?"

"The planet," Purple said, "is called Earth."

The Great Assigning was over. Invaders strode from the great room to their ships, departing for distant planets to be conquered by the Irken Empire and its mighty Armada. Only young Zim lagged behind, eager for a word with the Tallest.

"My Tallest," he said, bowing, "Thank you for allowing me a second chance. I am grateful that Miyuki convinced you to trust me."

Red looked away.

"I know that she has been sent off," Zim continued, pacing slowly before them. "It is indeed wise of you to protect her in this way. But, My Tallest, you know how close Miyuki and I are. I ask you, and I will beg you if need be, to tell me what has become of her. She asked me not to save her, and I will obey that order with my life, but I must know where she has gone…and if she will be coming back."

There was silence in the huge empty room. Red shook his head once more and Purple looked on with placid eyes.

"Zim," said the Tallest Red. His eyes were closed, hands clenched. "Miyuki is dead."

Dim blue light filtered down from the ceiling. A long white table sat in the middle of the room, beside it a small round pedestal topped with a vial filled with clear liquid. It was quiet.

The door slid open and three sets of boots tapped on the hard floor. Three tall figures cast in blue stood there, facing each other, silent.

"Is there no other way to do this?" said blue-eyed Miyuki.

"It will only get worse," said Purple quietly. "You can't imagine the plans these people have for you."

Red looked, pained, at the floor. "My friend…we care for you. This is tearing us apart."

"Then find another way," she breathed, looking mournfully at Red. His hand twitched as if to reach for her.

"I would see you live, Miyuki. The only thing that awaits you here is war and hate. You deserve life. That is not your fate on Irk."

"What did you tell Zim?"

Red hesitated. "That you are living on a beautiful, peaceful planet where no one from Irk will ever be able to find you. That your life there is perfect and that all you wanted was for him to become an Invader and forget about you."

Miyuki nodded and her eyes watered like oceans.

"If it must be done," she whispered, "Do it now."

Purple took her arm with a steadying hand. He wrapped his arms around her for a moment and looked kindly into her eyes before taking the needle from the pedestal. Red, with a glance at Miyuki, took her hand.

"Goodbye."

She felt the needle in her arm. Everything began to fade and the last things she saw were stars. Pinpricks in the distance, stars of purple and red. Miyuki slept.


	3. Awakening

On Earth, a girl slept in a white house. For six months she had slept. And for six more she would sleep. The night an alien ship crashed through Earth's atmosphere with a deafening noise, she merely twitched and slept on. She had been through so much. She deserved a long rest. Someone out there was making sure of that.

* * *

Six months later there was a new girl at skool.

"Class, I want you to give a warm welcome from the voids in your chest cavities to our new student. Its name is Mia."

The new girl was dark-haired and blue-eyed.

"Welcome to eleventh grade, Mia. My name is Miss Bitters." Miss Bitters looked not a day over one hundred years old. When she moved she gave the impression of a thousand insects scuttling through a hellish void. "Go sit down and get ready to fill your soft tissue with useless information. There's a seat beside Dib."

The girl moved through the classroom with great composure, with the eyes of a wary wildcat. She took a seat beside the black-haired boy, Dib.

"Class, I'm at the breaking point of my sanity," Miss Bitters announced from her desk perch. "The only lesson I've prepared for today is for you to contemplate doom. Begin." She flitted from the classroom and the class broke into idle chatter. The black-haired boy angled his chair towards Mia.

"Welcome to hell," he said with sympathy, "My name's Dib."

"I'm Mia. Surely it's not _that_ bad."

Dib shrugged. "I shouldn't be so negative. There's probably some good about this place. By this point I'm numb to it."

"_Doom_, the old flesh-vulture says. Hmph."

The chatter came down to a murmur. Mia looked over.

"Not again," muttered Dib beside her.

Mia had to blink a couple of times to be sure of what she was seeing. A boy sat in a chair on the end of the row but it was not a normal boy. His hair was black and his eyes a weird blue, but his skin… was it the light or did his skin have a green tint? And his clothes were just as odd. A pinkish uniform-looking attire, with a silver motif clasp at his throat, black gloves upon his slender hands and boots on his feet. He was quite intriguing to look upon but it was an unnatural sight for the eye. The boy stood and strode back and forth as he spoke again.

"Doom, doom…what is doom? Do any of you even have the slightest grasp in your puny minds of what _doom_ is? That crow throws the word around like those _sick_ red spheres you launch at each other's large, slimy heads for sport. You cannot begin to fathom real doom. Doom is inescapable. You filthy little worm-babies, you wereborn into doom! This planet is at the absolute edge of the void, the dusty corner of the cosmic shoe-closet of the great…big…_doom feet_ of the _universe_! And you will be stomped into puddles of doom by the FEET!"

He halted and turned to face them.

"…Please keep in mind, my fellow worm babies, that I am just as much doomed as the rest of you because I am human." He looked around frantically in the silence.

"…I really enjoy food. I _really_ do. Thank you."

His boots tapped on the floor as he promptly made his way back to his seat.

The classroom erupted into chatter again, unperturbed.

"I don't think I can begin to comprehend what just happened," Mia said, watching the green boy as he looked suspiciously around the classroom.

"That's Zim," Dib sighed.

"Does… does anyone realize how weird that was?"

"Just me, so far. He's been here six months. I seem to be the only one who finds him remotely odd."

"I'll go ahead and say that I'm with you on that," Mia said.

"Oh God," Dib said, looking at her in awe. "This is a monumental event. You just proved that either I'm not insane after all…or we both are."

They looked at each other for a moment.

"This is going to be one hell of a year," Mia muttered. "I can feel it."

* * *

"Do you know what today is?"

Through the black void of space the Massive placidly hummed. It had been a quiet day.

The Almighty Tallest lounged in the control room. Purple addressed Red from his position sprawled elegantly on the sofa. Red sat brooding in a chair nearby. He said nothing.

"You do know," Purple said. "She woke up today."

Red closed his eyes. "Yeah. I know."

"Don't worry so much, Red. She'll have a good life. Oh, and she's going to school with Zim. Their landing coordinates were so close. Funny, huh?"

"Zim," Red snarled. "That pitiful excuse of an Irken. Miyuki really adored him, didn't she?"

Purple glanced sidelong at the other Tallest. "Don't be like that, Red," he said gently.

"I'd have them on opposite sides of the universe if I didn't have you always buzzing in my ear." He sighed and slouched back into the chair. "Why did you even have to bring her up?" Red muttered.

"You were thinking of her," Purple said quietly. "You always are."

* * *

Mia found the letter that night. Written in bold spidery print on travel-worn paper.

_Miyuki,_

_My old friend. By the time you read this you won't remember anything about me or the life you used to lead. But I couldn't live with myself if I didn't offer my deepest apologies for what we have done to you. Miyuki, we value your life more than anything. That is why all this has come to pass. I hope that somewhere within you these words will be recognized. Perhaps you will forgive us... I don't expect you to. This decision will pain me for the rest of my existence. At least I will know that you are safe._

_Goodbye, Miyuki. Take care of yourself._

_ Almighty Tallest Red_

_ Ruler of the Irken Empire_

She put the paper aside, running her hands over her head in disbelief. That morning when she awoke it seemed perfectly natural to jump in the car parked in the driveway of the house that was empty except for her, and to drive off to school. Yet as she read the letter, and as she thought back, she found that no other memories existed within her except those of that day. Further back there was only the glimmer of stars in a dream.

And what a day. A school full of imbeciles, a teacher who was a card-carrying resident of hell, a black-haired kid with more brainpower than the entire 11th grade combined, and a green kid preaching doom.

"…the hell is wrong with this place," Mia muttered as she leaned back on the bed. Sleep took her the moment her head hit the pillow. Dreams of silent supernovas flickered behind her eyelids, reflecting in the sapphire-ocean eyes that lay dormant there.


	4. SciFi Week

Mia woke the next morning and knew there was no school because it was Saturday. She knew a lot of things, really. She knew her name. Her age. The year. She knew where all the food was in the house and even how to make Ramen noodles. She knew how to drive. And what the pin number was for the debit card in her wallet.

One thing that seemed to escape her range of knowledge was how the hell she got here in the first place.

Mia knew about parents and families. And how she didn't seem to have either. Her house was huge and empty. Full of nice furniture, abstract paintings, little picture frames with the default families smiling at her, sure. But the house was lacking in life.

Mia shook her head as she rose from bed. Now was not the time for such thinking. Now was the time for breakfast.

She shuffled through the house and knew exactly where to go. Out the door, down the hall, and through the living room where the kitchen awaited beyond the modern-looking bar that separated the two rooms.

There were about a dozen cereals to choose from. Cosmic Crunch sounded okay.

Why does this feel so satisfying? Mia wondered as she sat barefoot and pajama-clad on the ridiculously plush sofa. She had no responsibilities, no connections, no obligations. Really, she could go absolutely anywhere. Do anything.

Mia set her bowl on the glass coffee table. She leaned back into the feathery sofa. But this will do for now, she thought.

* * *

Sunday didn't bring new memories, either. Mia would've done something about that but she really couldn't think of anything to do. What _was _there to do? Go get a brain scan from a doctor? Not like they could bring anything back. Or maybe it was the whole mind that had gone and she was just crazy.

Lying on the sofa all day was nice but Mia thought she would go out and about instead. She ate. She picked out clothes from the enormous closet. Then she paused at the front door and thought about the letter by her bed. Dib's words from Friday rang in her head.

"Maybe I am crazy," she murmured. For a moment it was almost sad. "But I have a fast car and a hundred bucks in my pocket." And that was alright.

Mia locked the door behind her.

As she rolled through the streets behind the wheel of quite a lovely little black convertible, Mia thought and the wind and the road listened. She really didn't have to go to school if there was no record of her existence. Oh wait. _Was _there any record of her existence? And how did one go about finding that out? Anyway, she was seventeen, she could drop out if she wanted.

But that was no good. Currently Zim, Dib, and the class of doom were Mia's only contacts on the entire planet, as far as she knew. She couldn't leave them so soon. And where else on Earth were you going to find a green kid? Uh, nowhere.

Mia cranked up the radio. The city was rising up around her. What to do, what to do…

She spotted a tiny indie movie theater on the corner. "Sci-Fi week," the sign said. "Today's showing, _2001: A Space Odyssey._" And below: "Free snack with purchase of drink!"

"Huh," said Mia. "I do enjoy a good snack…"

And so, to the movies it was.

* * *

"So, tell me about this lovely facility you have here," said Mia. It was Monday. Lunchtime. She and Dib sat outside, eating chips atop a picnic table away from the rest of the brainless mass. Dib held up his hands as if to present something grand.

"Here it is," he said wearily. The schoolyard was dotted with high schoolers. A couple of kids smoked under the tree. Some played kickball- a girl squealed into the school with most of her face bleeding. One kid was very interested in trying to lick his nose. And the green-skinned Zim sat scowling at a picnic table, eyes scanning the yard. He hissed at a passing squirrel.

"It's absurd," Mia said in wonder. "Really, we can't be insane when all this exists."

"_All this_ has collectively agreed that I have most definitely lost my mind."

Mia scoffed. "Everyone that I've met here, besides you, has about the brain capacity of that kid over there." The nose-licker was moving on to his elbow.

Dib sighed and lie back on the picnic table, boots hanging down. "You get used to it."

"Why do they think _you're _crazy, anyway?"

"Um…"

"Oh wait," Mia said, and she bent down to whisper to Dib, "Zim's coming over here. Is that bad?"

"Uhh yep, that usually means bad news," Dib said, sitting up.

"Dib-stink," Zim said curtly. He stood before them, standing straight and still as always, hands behind his back and weird blue eyes searching them coolly.

"Zim," Dib nodded, not taking his eyes off him. Zim's gaze flicked to Mia.

"We haven't properly met. My name is Zim." He held out a black-gloved hand. When Mia didn't take it he frowned. "This is what you do, isn't it? As a sign of trust? That we won't rip each other's arms off? Why won't you grab hands with Zim_?_ Has this filthy large-headed boy told you to rip my arms off? _LIES!_ You will never get Zim's arms_,_ foolish boy! For years you have plotted, but _you will never take my arms!_"

"I've only known you for six months."

"From the moment of your _birth_ you dreamed of these arms, Dib! But you will _neeeever!_"

The bell rang. Zim looked back at Mia.

"Stay strong, pig-child. Do not let this boy's large head fill yours with filth. You do not want these arms." He waved. "Nice meeting you."

They watched Zim as he disappeared into the crowd filing through the school doors. Mia eventually stood and Dib followed her inside, shaking his head.

"I don't even remember what I was saying," Mia muttered.

* * *

"My Tallest. Invader Zim reporting. Since you haven't answered in person I can assume that you are tending to extremely important business on Irk. I hope everything is well with the Empire. Everything is fine here on Earth. This will be a regular report on how things have been going this past month.

"The large-headed one I mentioned, Dib, has finally stopped with his ridiculous accusations towards me. He still has his suspicions, I believe, but it won't be a problem. The rest of the worm-babies think he is crazy anyway.

"There is also a new female at school and today I thought it would be a good idea to try out a customary human greeting on her, but she did not return my offer not to rip my arms off. Either I have made a mistake or she is indeed plotting to take my arms in my sleep. I believe the Dib has planted this idea in her mind. Know this just in case, my Tallest- my arms will always belong to the Irken Empire.

"My studies continue. The humans are repulsive and that is all there is to say. I shall continue as ordered, but I await your command to begin offensive action. This is an absurd planet, if I may be so plain, my Tallest. It does not deserve existence and it would be my great pleasure to wipe it clean for the Empire to expand upon.

"For now, that is all. I await word from you, My Tallest. Invader Zim, signing off."

The screen flicked to black. A yawn escaped the Irken and he stretched in the purple glow of the room. Machinery hummed as it lay dormant all around. Somewhere far above, Gir shrieked with laughter at the Scary Monkey Show.

"That monkeeey," Zim scowled. Then, "Computer. Take me up."

The circle beneath his feet rose up and carried him through the bowels of the earth, upwards to the aboveground portion of his abode. He climbed out of the trashcan.

In the living room, the TV was silent with the staring monkey. Gir was rolling on the floor in spastic convulsions of laughter. Zim sighed and shook his head, disappearing into his room and slamming the door shut.

He tossed the itchy black hair and horrid contacts onto the bedside table. Rubbing his eyes, he collapsed onto the low bed and kicked off his black boots. Vaguely he hoped Gir would have enough sense to protect him in the case of an arm-abduction emergency.

Poor girl, he thought with another yawn. Polluted by the Dib-stink. She didn't seem nearly as wretched as the rest of the human race. Definitely not the arm-stealing sort.

And her eyes. Sleep clouded his mind. Those eyes. They were…so blue. So familiar…

Like the vorkberry icees back on Irk, he decided, and smiled in nostalgia as sleep took him.


	5. Remembrance

Mia woke in the middle of the night gasping for air and drenched in sweat. Her feet hit the floor, eyes darting around the room and chest heaving.

_No. What?_

Everything was quiet. Her breathing slowed.

"Oh shit. Dream."

Shaking out her trembling hands, she paced around the room. Some dream. Again, the blood-red eyes. The yelling, like war-cries. Figures drenched in darkness, moving like great spiders towards her. Wanting to take her. Wanting to kill her.

Mia shivered. By now she was thoroughly spooked. Pure terror prickled on her skin, threatening to creep up her spine and consume her.

She grabbed the phone and dialed the first, the only number that came to mind. As it rang, she glanced at the clock. Three in the morning. Oh well.

"You better pick up, you ass," she murmured, pacing like a nervous tiger.

There was a garbled noise from the other end. "Huhh…hello?"

"Dib?"

"Mia?"

"Hey, uh, would you mind coming over here? Like right now? I had another dream and I'm freaking out."

"Um…yeah, I guess. Wh…what time is it?"

"Three."

"Shit. Well…I don't know where you live."

"Just get in the car, I'll talk you through it."

She sprinted to the door when she heard his car in the driveway and opened it to see a bedraggled Dib standing there, hair like a mass of black feathers and feet bare.

"Everything okay?" he whispered.

"You don't have to whisper, there's no one here."

"What? Your parents are gone?"

"No, I live by myself," she said impatiently, "Come on, come on."

"Wait…_what?"_

They sat in the darkness of the living room, Mia wrapped in a blanket and Dib cross-legged on the sofa, rubbing his eyes.

"Okay," Dib said. "Can I ask _why_ you're seventeen years old and living in this freaking huge house all alone?"

"Dib," she said, and he was surprised by the sudden weakness of her voice. "I don't know. I really don't know."

"What…do you mean?" he said as gently as possible, but by now he was wide awake.

She looked desperately at him. "Just listen. I'm going to tell you everything."

And she told him everything. About waking up five weeks ago in this house with absolutely no memory. About the dreams. Dreams of space, dreams of violent kidnappings, dreams of nothing but an infinite sadness. And the letter. The letter.

She shoved it into his hands. He read it.

By now Mia was near tears. "What the fuck_ is_ this?" she said, voice cracking.

Dib put the letter down. He looked at her. "Okay, Mia. Now I'm going to tell you everything. I told you when you got here that everyone thinks I'm crazy. I never told you why. When Zim got here, I was very… vocal about my opinion of him. I thought everyone else saw it too and when they obviously didn't, I did everything I could to try and convince them. No one saw it. But Mia, everything I've seen makes me absolutely positive. Zim is an alien. And his race…they're called Irkens."

"Wh…_what_?"

"I'm taking you to Zim."

* * *

The house was as strange as he was. Lawn gnomes stood like sentinels on either side of the walkway of the green-walled, pink-roofed home.

It was completely quiet in the neighborhood. Two figures lit by streetlights hopped out of their car and approached the surreal house.

It only took one knock for the door to open an inch. One blue eye peered out at them.

"Dib," came a curt voice.

"Zim. We need your help."

The eye looked suspiciously at the pair. "_My _help?" he scoffed. "At three in the morning. What could you possibly need?"

"Look, Zim," Dib said, exasperated. "I'm not playing around anymore. I know you're an alien, and you _know_ I know. Mia lost her memory. The only thing that exists from her previous life is a letter. Zim!" he said loudly as the door began to shut. "It's signed 'Almighty Tallest Red.'"

The door flung open and a gloves hand grabbed Mia's arm, pulling her inside.

"Wait here, Dib-stink, and _don't touch anything_." They disappeared into the floor.

Zim scrutinized her as they sank into the earth. "I don't know what's going on here, human, but if I restore your memory and find something I don't like, I will take half of your brain and place it in jar for you to take home as a souvenir."

Zim continued to fume as they went lower, fingers tapping on his crossed arms. He looked at Mia sharply. "What exactly did he tell you?"

"That you're an alien. That you're an Irken."

"Do you even know what that means?" he spat.

"No, I don't, Zim, but five weeks ago I woke up with absolutely no memory and a letter by my bed that's signed 'Almighty Tallest Red, Ruler of the Irken Empire.' I don't know what the hell is going on and I don't care what you do as long as you give me my fucking memory back."

Zim raised his eyebrows. "We're here," he said, and they were.

He had her sit down in the chair illuminated by the purple glow. When he came back before her, Mia looked at him in awe.

Two eyes peered coolly at her as if imbued with the essence of a flaming red-violet star. Skin as green as ever with two antennae laying back against his head. Neither said a thing. Zim put a crown-like band over her head and a needle in her arm. His eyes faded into pinpricks; then, black.

Mia's brain appeared on the screen before Zim.

"Pah," he said. Such a simple problem. One large section of the brain was completely blacked out, leaving only the simplest of facts available for the girl to have access to. It was an Irken suppressant fluid, no doubt. Zim knew how to extract suppressant fluid better than a smeet knew how to cry. He grabbed a needle and began.

Five minutes later, the dark liquid floated in the clear vial. Zim set it aside and looked down at the girl. Around her neck was a silver pendant of a spiral design that looked unassuming enough. He bent down and took it between two black-gloved fingers. Another bit of Irken technology. He glanced at her finger. A ring was there, set with a small sapphire stone. The stone fit into the center of the spiral around her neck, and clicked as it turned.

Something flickered. Zim stepped back.

Two oceans looked back at him. They sucked the breath from his lungs. They came forward and consumed him.

He could hardly lift his arms to put them around the form that had attached itself to his.

"Miyuki," he murmured, "I knew you weren't dead."

The figure detached itself. Zim never failed to be stunned by her appearance. In the glow her skin was like smooth jade. But suddenly those eyes roared as they looked upon him.

"They told you I was dead?" she said with careful control.

"Well, yes… but I knew you couldn't be. It seemed impossible."

"Zim," she said, temper rising, "I need to send a transmission to the Tallest. Get me connected."

"Of course."

The Tallest did not connect. Miyuki left a message instead.

"Second Tallest Miyuki reporting from Earth. Your new Invader, Zim, is doing a fine job on this planet. He has succeeded in locating me and restoring my memory. I do not know what course of action we will take next, but I believe the decision lies with me as the Second Tallest and therefore first in command on this planet. I will report back if I deem it necessary.

"By the way, Red, I got your letter. I expect you will not be surprised when I assure you that forgiveness from me may never come your way.

"And Purple." She held back a smile. "Stay well. Second Tallest Miyuki signing off."

Countless lightyears away, the Tallest looked on.

"He found her," Red said blankly.

"It sure looks like it," said Purple. He smiled to himself in the shadows behind Red. "What a coincidence, huh?"


	6. Reintroduction

Zim walked into the living room and Dib stood up. They looked at each other for a long minute, cosmic red-violet eyes on earth-brown ones.

"Well? Where's Mia?" Dib said.

Zim narrowed his eyes. "Her name is Miyuki."

Miyuki strode into the room. Dib staggered.

She and Zim stood side-by-side and they were a beautifully menacing sight. Jewel-eyed creatures, lithe and tall, though Miyuki more so than Zim, looking gracefully back at him in the semi-darkness. And despite his contempt for Zim and the entirety of the alien's race, Dib could feel no malice in that moment. If anything he felt a great sweep of emotion. These were beings whose eyes had seen the depths of the universe, whose skin had felt the cold vacuum of space and the dust of nebulas. They were walking dreams. Ethereal figures that embodied every dream of space Dib had ever conjured.

No, he could feel no malice.

"Second Tallest Miyuki," Zim announced, "Second in command of the mighty Irken Empire."

Dib stood speechless for a moment. Where was that old urge to grab a camera and his cell phone and tell the whole world what stood before him?

"Miyuki," he said instead. "…Welcome to Earth."

* * *

Dib left Zim's house that night without Mia. Miyuki, Mia, whatever the hell her name was. She and Zim had planning to do, they said.

What had just occurred was too surreal for words. His best friend in a long time and the creature he had once held the most contempt for had just revealed themselves as aliens. Not too long ago he would have tackled Zim right there and fought tooth and nail to drag him to the nearest laboratory.

They hadn't told him much other than Miyuki's status as Second Tallest, and that the current Tallest, lightyears away, had exiled her to Earth because of the rebellions sprouting up across the planet that opposed her. Zim, however, had always stood by her with unwavering loyalty. And now they were here on Earth.

It worried Dib vaguely. These two creatures had Earth under their black-gloved thumbs. Zim had yet to make any moves on the planet, but what Irken technology Dib had seen was unnerving to him. With his commander now beside him, there was no telling what they might be moved to do.

But she was still Mia, somewhere. That girl wouldn't have destroyed Earth, but she also hadn't been consciously aware of the alien urge deep within her that would have told her to do so. And Zim wouldn't lift a finger unless she commanded him to do so. Really it was up to how the old Mia and the new Miyuki got along.

Dib looked at the clock. Six in the morning. The sun was just painting the horizon with pale blue. It was Monday morning, too. School was in two hours. Zim and Miyuki most certainly wouldn't be there. The question was, would Dib?

Hell no, he thought as he pulled into the driveway. If the aliens were getting a day off from school, then so was he.

* * *

Miyuki sat quietly on the sofa. Zim had told her everything. About his "secret mission to Earth", about Tallest Red telling him that she was dead. The six month trip to Earth, the transmissions he sent regularly to the Tallest that were never answered. About Dib, who had tried vehemently to prove that Zim was an alien and yet had given up for fear of his sanity.

"Zim," she mused, "I believe we have a friend in dear Tallest Purple."

The Invader listened attentively from a green armchair nearby.

"I could have just as easily been sent to a peaceful planet on the other end of the universe. And yet they sent both of us here, to this godforsaken planet on the edge of oblivion. My theory is that Purple suggested this planet because if you never received an order to attack then it would remain the safest planet in the universe, out of the radar of the Irken Armada yet with one of our own here observing quietly and taking no action. Red would have liked to have kept us as far apart as possible, no doubt. Yet he and Purple share an equal amount of power and Red knows it. Purple has just as much of a say as he does.

"Purple made sure we would be in close proximity, of course. He probably figured it would be only a matter of time until you recognized me or something occurred that would reveal my identity to you. It turns out that a third party, Dib, has intervened and brought us together once more. I also assume that Purple had plotted all of this on his own, and Red has remained completely unaware.

"And now that we have come thus far in Purple's plan, a question remains; what do we do now?"

"The decision is yours, My Tallest, but if you ask for my council I shall give it."

Miyuki looked over at Zim and softened. Loyal as ever, she thought. He would leap into a pit of slaughtering rat-people if she gave the word. But she would never do any such thing.

"Then what do you think, my friend?"

He looked at her with serious red-violet eyes. "I think you should go back to Irk and take your rightful position as Tallest."

Miyuki took a deep breath and leaned back into the sofa. Yes, that seemed like the obvious choice. But if there was anything she wanted to see less in the entire universe, it was Irk… and even more so, Red.

She looked back at the Invader. "Zim. We've been awake for an entire day according to this planet's rotation schedule. Right now I think the most important thing is that we get some sleep. Do you concur?"

Zim's mouth twitched slightly into a smile.

"I do."

He showed her the second bedroom and she sat down wearily on the bed.

"Sleep well, My Tallest."

"Thank you, Zim," Miyuki said, and when he had left she whispered again into the darkness, "Thank you."


End file.
